Author Topic: Investigatory Powers Act imminent as peers clear path for UK super-snoop law  (Read 7964 times)

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Offline thewire

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Investigatory Powers Act imminent as peers clear path for UK super-snoop law

http://arstechnica.co.uk/tech-policy/2016/11/investigatory-powers-act-imminent-peers-clear-path-for-uk-super-snoop-law/

Both houses pass legislation and all it needs now is a nod from the Queen.


It's been years in the making, but the UK government's repeated bid to massively ramp up surveillance of Brits' Web activity is about to become law.

The Investigatory Powers Bill cleared its final hurdle in the House of Lords on Wednesday afternoon, when peers agreed to stop ping-ponging a proposed press intrusion amendment between the lower and upper chambers of the Palace of Westminster.
Further Reading
The UK government’s snooping manifesto: How did we get here?

Now that both houses have reached an agreement, prime minister Theresa May—who as former home secretary fought time and time again for a so-called Snoopers' Charter, under various guises—will see her plans to avow and grant greater surveillance powers to Britain's spies, police, and other public bodies become law.

It's a formality for the bill to receive royal assent, allowing it to be enacted into UK legislation. The Queen will simply agree and the Investigatory Powers Act will be passed with an announcement made in both chambers.

A commencement order may be brought in by a government minister, or else the law will come into force from midnight at the start of the day of the royal assent.

The law gets in under the wire, too. A sunset clause in the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (DRIPA) is set to expire at the end of 2016, at the behest of former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg. The Liberal Democrat had said at the time that his party wanted that "poison pill" on the legislation to avoid placing anything permanent on the statute book.

Ironically, the Tory government has repeatedly used DRIPA's expiration for political gain, with ministers warning that the UK would be "naked" to any national security threat without any provision in law that allowed for a communications data acquisition regime to continue into 2017.

Key passages of the Investigatory Powers Act demand that telecoms firms retain data on the Web activity of British citizens for 12 months to allow cops, spooks, and public authorities to access the information. It also explicitly states the fact that—for years—spies have routinely intercepted the bulk communications data of people in the UK.

A euphemistically-named request filter—which the home office has refused to describe as a type of database, even though it has previously told your correspondent that it allows "public authorities [to] make a complex request for communications data"—will be brought in.
Further Reading
MPs vote in favour of Investigatory Powers Bill after Labour, SNP abstain [Updated]

However, according to independent terror watchdog David Anderson QC it might not be ready for showtime.

The home office told him in August that officials were still "defining requirements before going to design phase." He added in his review of the government's bulk powers that the request filter's "scope was uncertain, and there would be practical difficulties in bridging different formats. A prototype would have to be engineered, and a pilot phase operated."

It's unclear if these issues have been addressed yet. Regardless, your Internet use will now be heavily spied on and civil liberty warriors will be crying into their beer tonight.




Offline thewire

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Snooper's Charter is set to become law: how the Investigatory Powers Bill will affect you

http://www.wired.co.uk/article/ip-bill-law-details-passed

The Investigatory Powers Bill has been passed by both Houses of Parliament. Once it receives Royal Assent it will become law


After more than 12 months of debate, jostling and a healthy dose of criticism, the United Kingdom's new surveillance regime is set to become law.

Both the House of Lords and House of Commons have now passed the Investigatory Powers Bill – the biggest overhaul of surveillance powers for more than a decade.

Now the bill has been passed by both of these official bodies, it is almost law. Before it officially is adopted, however, it will need to receive Royal Assent, which is likely to be given before the end of 2016 (to match the government's intentions and ahead of existing surveillance laws expiring).


First introduced by then-Home Secretary Theresa May in November 2015 and often referred to as the Snooper's Charter.


The Home Office, the department responsible for the law, has said the provisions listed within it are needed to help protect the country's national security and give more oversight than ever before. While civil rights groups and those in opposition to the powers say it is intrusive and draconian.


Here's a reminder of what the legislation includes:
Hacking power

For the first time, security services will be able to hack into computers, networks, mobile devices, servers and more under the proposed plans. The practice is known as equipment interference and is set out in part 5, chapter 2, of the IP Bill.

This could include downloading data from a mobile phone that is stolen or left unattended, or software that tracks every keyboard letter pressed being installed on a laptop.


"More complex equipment interference operations may involve exploiting existing vulnerabilities in software in order to gain control of devices or networks to remotely extract material or monitor the user of the device," a draft code of conduct says.

The power will be available to police forces and intelligence services. Warrants must be issued for the hacking to take place.


For those not living in the UK, but who have come to the attention of the security agencies, the potential to be hacked increases. Bulk equipment interference (chapter 3 of the IP Bill) allows for large scale hacks in "large operations".

Data can be gathered from "a large number of devices in the specified location". A draft code of practice says a foreign region (although it does not give a size) where terrorism is suspected could be targeted, for instance. As a result, it is likely the data of innocent people would be gathered.

Security and intelligence agencies must apply for a warrant from the Secretary of State and these groups are the only people who can complete bulk hacks.
Commissioners

To help oversee the new powers, the Home Office is introducing new roles to approve warrants and handle issues that arise from the new powers. The Investigatory Powers Commissioner (IPC) and judicial commissioners (part 8, chapter 1 of the IP Bill) will be appointed by Theresa May, or whoever the serving prime minister is at the time.

The IPC will be a senior judge and be supported by other high court judges. "The IPC will audit compliance and undertake investigations," the government says.

"The Commissioner will report publicly and make recommendations on what he finds in the course of his work," guidance on the original bill says (page 6). "He will also publish guidance when it is required on the proper use of investigatory powers."

Under the IP Bill, security services and police forces will be able to access communications data when it is needed to help their investigations. This means internet history data (Internet Connection Records, in official speak) will have to be stored for 12 months.

Communications service providers, which include everything from internet companies and messenger services to postal services, will have to store meta data about the communications made through their services.

The who, what, when, and where will have to be stored. This will mean your internet service provider stores that you visited WIRED.co.uk to read this article, on this day, at this time and where from (i.e. a mobile device). This will be done for every website visited for a year.

Web records and communications data is detailed under chapter 3, part 3 of the law and warrants are required for the data to be accessed. A draft code of practice details more information on communications data.
Bulk data sets

As well as communications data being stored, intelligence agencies will also be able to obtain and use "bulk personal datasets". These mass data sets mostly include a "majority of individuals" that aren't suspected in any wrongdoing but have been swept-up in the data collection.

These (detailed under part 7 of the IP Bill and in a code of practice), as well as warrants for their creation and retention must be obtained.

"Typically these datasets are very large, and of a size which means they cannot be processed manually," the draft code of practice describes the data sets as. These types of databases can be created from a variety of sources.

Offline spice

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im sure something like its coming to trumpistan
Real bees just hear the buzzing and it doesn´t ever stop. Ever.

Offline Tsathoggua

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Anyone up for a written petition to Her Majesty herself? explaining what a monstrosity this is?

Including, as a preface, the danger the May Bitch has placed everyone who uses drugs (and will do so regardless, for its an unwinnable war) due to driving the RC trade underground, and forcing pre psychoactive substances ban (illegalizing EVERYTHING psychotropic and known to be in every sense exc. caffeine, nicotine and alcohol, the latter two blatantly harmfull, the last only in excess but tobacco, taxed at 98% proving the govt intention is NOT to protect from harm. ?

Who would be willing to involve themselves in this with signatures, assisting in wording> Tsath' himself is too far on the radar to have anything to lose at all by doing this. He would be willing to write the final draft and submit it here for opinions, then canvass black and bluelight, and write the letter himself then mail it.

What say you guys? to see if the queen herself, can bee pursuaded by logic to deny royal assent? Tsath' would do the writing in pen and ink, so any fingerprints, he has nothing whatsoever to lose.Hell he, WE may even gain from a full and frank secondary letter detailing the legal abuse suffered at the hands of the filth, illegal searches, illegal lied on warrants and records, illegal treatment in custody (denied even food and drink, plus essential medication that he had with him, in order to pressure him to give answers in interview (he gave them nothing and nobody, other than 'he has not committed a crime, he is innocent' and other than that, no comment)
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Offline embezzler

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im sure something like its coming to trumpistan

Well you will have access to all the datathat the UK gather anyway.

Snowden warned people but they didn't give a shit. This is just formalising what they have been doing for years anyway.
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Offline spice

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Yes I know, Snowden did warn us, but so much of white America think he's a traitor and should be executed. In my experience most white people here are FOR the things that scare intelligent human beings, it seems that they are pretty racist and military minded. Apparently we are headed for dark times.
Real bees just hear the buzzing and it doesn´t ever stop. Ever.

Online java

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....well Trump only reaffirmed the racism that most white folks in the US harbor, hence he only said the things they feel and have kept close to their mouth, but never said so openly....java
"If you like yourself....then take care of yourself"

Offline Kasey Jones

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Trumps Attorney General nomination, Jeff Sessions, is about as bad a pick as possible.  He will come down hard on everything drug related. Trump himself campaigned on a "law and order" message which should scare the hell out of minority groups and libertarians.  All these hillbilly idiots elected a guy who will do none of what he promised to do (bring back jobs from overseas) because most of those jobs were lost to technology/robotics.  Now he may create more prison industrial complex jobs: more cops , jailers, military.  All to ruin families and trample rights.  All because people want to put a substance into their own body and temporarily forget how fucked up this world is:(  There is a small minority of drug users who cannot handle their shit, but the fast majority of people can work jobs and partake on the side. Most of the bad thjngs that happen to people related to drugs are not from the drug itself, but from penalties enacted to stop which is  a basic fundamental right.  Whatever happened to live and let live?!!  Fuck Trump and the Republicans :(!!!

Offline opal

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....well Trump only reaffirmed the racism that most white folks in the US harbor, hence he only said the things they feel and have kept close to their mouth, but never said so openly....java

Bullshit. Only a Mexican would say this. How is Mexico?

You guys are fooling yourself if you think Clinton, Sanders or even Warren would be anything better for you guys. You are not smoking joints, you are manufacturing large amounts of meth, ecstasy, and other compounds. You are doing 20 to 30 years in prison no matter who is president. You are fooling yourself if you think any politician out there is going to go any easier on you. The most liberal politicians are just now starting to show action on giving small time USERS an option other than prison. You are about 100 years away from anyone giving a manufacturer the same kind of break. If anything clearing the prisons of small time users will just clear out the prisons for the real bad guys in their minds, us.

Online java

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....thank you Opal , you just proved my point about racist harbored feelings.....java
"If you like yourself....then take care of yourself"

Offline embezzler

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OK, I am thinking this thread needs to be locked. It is not the subforum for politics but thewire's OP is good information. I understand that there is anger with Trump but I don't want that causing fighting among bees here. If people need a thread then it should be started in the Den. It still needs to be civil though.
All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream...